this escalate things or cross some line or escalate things in a way that there is no going back now in terms of israel's involvement in terms of the original nature of the conflict or can we see things walked back from this point? >> it is unclear what will happen. >> good evening. this week the george w. bush library opened in dallas --- >> the proxy for the united states by much of the anti-american sentiment in the region. but this is a clear shot across the bow and it is saying to the assad regime, you have crossed a line that rest of the world is not willing to tolerate except for of course iran and russia who are the strongest backers right now of the assad regime. >> andrea, i wonder here what this, what this now puts on the table of the president.

i think barack obama has been remarkably careful and judicious in the way he has discussed things. the red line that you just mentioned, which israel has been, i think, it is fair to say diplomatically pushing the u.s. to acknowledge as a clear bright thing to cross. the president has been textured and nuance about, is this a way of prevoccing the americans to do something? what does barack obama now have before him as the decision points when he comes and addresses the nation tomorrow or in a meeting in the sit o room as we speak? >> it is really a complex relationship. it is rarely officials, in the army or u.s. ambassador of israel was on msnbc with me last week, very eager to say israel was not pushing the u.s. into action. at the same time the arab world is divided. turkey has been supporting the more radical elements, according to u.s. officials, in rebel

forces. at the same time, saudi arabia, the uaemmirates saying they have to force the elements. only today, richard engel, and the military leader of the syrian forces and the cia own other intelligence experts are more moderate, less islamist, more secular. that's been the hope of the administration, they were hoping to either arm them or get them better training and not put weapons on the ground. all of the international experts have spoken to ambassadors from other countries, are saying there is no way that they will

back away from the assad regime. so with the support of iran, with the support of the really tough front supported by al qaeda factions and the support of russia, it is right now, the balance of power, is more or less with the regime. it may change the balance of power today, though. this is a very strong warning to assad. >> our understanding from u.s. officials and again, this is preliminary reports, so we are taking this from unnamed officials. i think there is a little bit of a grain of salt we should approach this with. but u.s. officials told msnbc news that the weapons were on their way out from syria to lebanon to hezbollah. there's been concern growing, not just among israel, but other players in the u.s. about hezbollah increasing involvement in the war happening in syria. >> exactly. and one of the big concerns has been scud missiles. we know that scuds can reach not

only israel but also american forces, nato forces, in turkey. the scuds have quite a a range. and syria has a huge arsenal of chemical weapons. so if there is concern that scuds could deliver weapons to israel via leb lebanon, israel has been clear that they won't take any action against any use of chemical weapons. >> there is a really interesting bit of reporting from eli lake from the "daily beast" about chemical weapons and our knowledge of it in syria. it is said that there isn't a great sense of where the chemical weapons are. you have to wonder about what the next step is. how are keyed in are u.s.

intelligence officials about what targets are there are to strike if strikes are going to happen or is everyone flying blind here? >> i wouldn't say they are flying blind. but if you can't get the weapons depots without risking worse contamination. so if you are going to have a military plan and we have mill taurry plans on the shelf, the u.s. does, and certainly the israelis do, you have to hit the delivery systems or troops that are going to arm the weapons and actually launch them. you have to hit targets that are associated with chemical weapons but not the chemicals themselves. one of the problems, chris, is the mobility of this. and the president said back in august that he would not permit the assad regime to cross the red line. there has been a lot of concern though that the actual evidence now hard and the evidence has to be absolutely air tight before they would go to the world with

this. they are very, very conscious from the mistakes made with weapons of mass destruction by the regime. >> and the president has been very cautious and not just in verifying this intelligence, and press secretary carnie and the president himself when he took to the podium earlier saying basically, the red line is not just necessarily confirmation after one-time use or the appearance of weapons but something like their systematic deployment. they are clear about where that red line is. it appears that israel's conception of that red line is quite different from the u.s. we've seen this before in other regional conflicts and in iran in which u.s. and israel and judgments about what the threshold for action is. and again, if you are just joining us, senior u.s. official confirms that israel did indeed strike targets inside syria tonight. officials declined comments

whether it was chemical weapons related. what you are seeing is israel going ahead and acting on their threshold before the u.s. or we don't know whether with the it is a ud approval of the u.s. or not but before the u.s. has acted. >> well, what we are hearing in this very carefully worded statement from israel, is a nondenial denial, and confirmation that they would stop any weapons that they thought were heading to hezbollah. that can be taken as confirmation from the israelis as something has happened and it involved that weapons that were intended for hostile forces inside lebanon. >> hezbollah is shiite ma liili and they are increasingly fighting in the conflict in syria. let's remember, began as a small nonviolent resistance in the

arab spring, because of the violence of the state and suppression on rebels has becomed an armed resistance. that armed resistance has grown into a regional conflict and there is tremendous concern about where this is all headed. and tonight right now, we have news that we may see a very significant escalation. once again, israel has, we are confirmi confirming nbc news, that israel struck inside syria against some weapons target. it is unclear at this point whether it is chemical weapons relateed. there is a report believed, a u.s. official, saying they believe it was a shipment of weapons heading for hezbollah in lebanon. andrea, the president has been on a trip. i believe we have sound from the president before this news broke talking about his approach to syria. do we have that? can we play that? >> as a general rule, i don't rule things out as commander-in-chief. because circumstances change and you want to make sure that i

always have the full power of the united states at our disposal to meet american national security interests. having said that, i do not foresee a scenario in which boots on the ground in syria, american boots on the ground in syria would not only be good for america, but also good for syria. and by the way, when i consult with leaders in the region, who are very much interested in seeing president say assad leave office and stabilizing the situation in syria, they agree with that assessment. >> andrea mitchell in washington. thank you for bringing us this breaking news. i want to bring in jim who we have on the phone right now. jim, can you tell us what we are hearing from u.s. officials? >> reporter: u.s. officials tell nbc news that this appears to be an attack very similar to the

one the israelis conducted in january when they launched an airstrike against a convoy of anti-aircraft missiles that they believe were destined for hezbollah in lebanon. and according to the officials, this was something very similar. it was a weapon's smimt shipment of some kind. not believes what the weapons were. but it is clear that israelis believe this is a shipment of weapons that would have been headed into the hands of hezbollah. now interestingly enough, the israelis, quite frankly, openly acknowledge that they conducted this attack and just last week, in a joint news conference with the defense secretary in tel aviv, the israeli defense minister said, you know, the israelis also have a set of red lines just like the u.s. does in terms of how far syria can go

inside of syria before action will be taken. but the number one red line for the israelis is that sophisticated weapons do not find their way from syria into the hand of hezbollah in lebanon for obvious reasons. and the defense minister acknowledged that syria in fact had crossed the red line in january and that the israelis took action. they have the same kind of concerns in the u.s. that the u.s. has about chemical weapons and the like. and quite frankly, you get a sense that as long -- as long as the battle stays in syria, israel -- you know, they don't like the conflict on their border, but they're not going to intervene. but it is when you talk hezbollah that they will take action. and they did again tonight. >> just to be clear. both airstrikes that one on --

the january airstrike and new airstrike which we are just confirmed tonight, breaking news we have for you at this moment, which is confirmation of an israeli airstrike in syria, by question for you is what does it mean from the perspective of the region and the u.s., is there no escalation that there is a climb down from or is this the new status quo? is israel asserting its right to strike inside syria when and if it chooses to? >> it is definitely the latter. you know, there was some initial concern and jitters after that first strike. this part of that battle is between hezbollah, israel, and syria. and as long as it stays in that realm, it's likely not to go any further. after all, you know, several years ago, and i'm sorry i can't

remember the year offhand, but the israelis launch airstrikes that took out a syrian nuclear facility that is in the making and syria did not issue a single protest because of course they didn't want to acknowledge they were making a nuclear facility. but that went away in very short order. so there's nobody within the u.s. government that thinks these kinds of strikes, by israel, against weapons shipments destined for hezbollah, is going to have any collateral affect and expand the war that's now inside syria. >> yes, though of course hezbollah does pose -- it is not israel's northern border and has been involved in military action with israel in the past. jim, stay with us. joining me from san jose costa rica, nbc news white house correspondent, kristin welker.

kristin, what are you hearing? >> reporter: well, white house officials right now are referring all reporters to the israelis. and israelis reiterating what we have heard which is that they are not commenting specifically on this strike that mick was just report awning except to say they will do whatever is necessary to prevent hezbollah from getting chemical weapons. so that is what we are hearing right now from officials. i can tell you that president obama did make some of his most definitive comments to date about syria this evening, chris. he made the point during a news conference earlier this evening, that he has all but ruled outputting boots on the ground in syria. he said that he does not foresee a scenario at this point in time in which he would put boots on the ground. this is, of course, significant, because americans did not look favorably on options in terms of dealing with syria. there are a number of other options that the white house has been considering. president obama has been very

careful in terms of not really talking about those options that are under consideration. tonight that changed and he said he is not at this point considering putting boots on the ground. using the term, he does not foresee putting boots on the ground in syria. the president has to some extent boxed him in. he said of course if syria uses chem weapons that would be a red line. the white house saying they believe chemical weapons were used but there are still too many questions about the origin of the weapons. president obama not ready to say how he is going to proceed when it comes to syria. so again we are still trying to get reaction to the israeli airstrike. >> andrea, you mentioned before john kerry is in moscow, on a trip specifically with the intent of trying to move forward diplomatically on presenting a u united front, to avoid further

military escalation, to avoid a regional conflict. the chief on stek sell russia which is course with the assad regime, as well as iran. how does it change the news we get about israeli news strikes in syria which have been confirmed now. how does that change the diplomat diplomatic calculus to persuade the russians to come on board. >> it may be more difficult, in fact, kerry is heading to moscow. he will go there on monday. monday and tuesday. and he will be meeting on tuesday, we're told, with vladimir putin and with the foreign minister. the murussians have been blocki action by the united nations. they have been a serious chief ally other than iran. russians have set repeatedly, as of the last couple days, they do not believe the allegations about chemical weapons or the

evidence. so as long as russia is going to prop up assad and as long as the iranians are in there as well, it is very difficult to change the balance of power. it is difficult to find and make sure you secure the chemical weapons, make sure they don't get into the hands of terrorist. israel has said they would not permit hezbollah to get their hands on delivery systems or the aerial bombs or other methods of delivering chemical weapons. so they are making it very clear they're not hiding at all the fact they have taken in action. and as jim was just saying, they can prove they go into syria and take out the construction after nuclear plant that north korea was helping to construct. that is back, i believe, in 2007. in june of 2007. so they did that without any protest and they have the range to do that. there is some question as to whether they went into syrian airspace for what we believe was

the strike that took place sometime on friday. but this does make it more complicated in getting the russians on board but i don't think there was ever any prospect of getting putin on board. everyone i spoke to from europe as well as arab countries said that putin duck in that russia believed that what would follow assad could be more destabilizing than having the assad regime. >> jim, given the fact -- given the closeness of israel and the united states in their diplomatic and military relationships and the way that is viewed in the region, my sense is many will view the strike of having the approval of american officials. and i'm curious if you know anything about that, whether this is kind of thing that would have been cleared, a heads-up given. u.s. would have given a green light or is this something that israel might have just decided to do on their own and told the u.s. ex post.

>> wh >>. >> reporter: when it comes to self-defense in the region, they don't need the approval, confirmation, go ahead from anyone. and i don't think that -- and can you sense it in the discussions that secreta discussions that h secretary hagel said, i know our rhere ar lines for the united states. the transfer of sophisticated weaponry to rogue elements is how they described it, including hezbollah. so i doubt very much that they would have informed the u.s. in advance particularly because the u.s. has nothing operating in the area. if they needed to clear airspace and tell the united states, look, we're going it launch aircraft here, but this is what

we're going to do, don't worry about it. but in this case, they have -- they have the freedom of the airspace because not even the syrians have been flying lately after one of their jets was shot down about a month ago. >> kristin welker, you're traveling with the president. he is currently in central america. and it seems to me the political pressure has been ratcheting up, absolutely domestically, over the past week. we have seen increasing calls, largely from republicans. some democrat too but john mccain and lindsay graham for intervention, a push on the white house. is the white house feeling that political pressure and how do you think the news tonight about an israeli news strike inside syria will alter their calculations about how to navigate the situation when they get a tremendous amount of pressure to be go further and be more aggressive and get the u.s. more bound up in this conflict?

>> i think you're right. i think it will add to the political pressure and to the calls for those who say the united states needs to do something, needs to intervene in some way, shape or form. i think you're right on that front. and i can tell you that the president behind the scenes is considering a number of different options which include establishing an airspace and of course we've been-doctor or no-fly zone, i should say. of course we have been talking about this week, chris, arming the opposition forces. administration has been hesitant to do that because it is not clear exactly who the opposition forces are. and it is believed that some of them do have ties to al qaeda. the administration has to do that. but if recent days they changed their tune on that front as well. saying that in recent weeks they have come to identify who these opposition forces are. so suggesting that operation is in the future but it will add it

people like senator john mccain, saying that the united states needs to get more involved. but you will remember, chris, that just this past sunday, senator mccain said he also did not think the u.s. should put boots on the ground. reflection of the fact that country is more we'rery after the war in iraq and now withdraw down of afghanistan. i think you're right. it will add to the pressure mount awning this white house to take action on syria. chris? >> that is pressured by the israel striking on targets. andrea mitchell, jim and kristin welker, thank you. that's "all in" for this evening. we will have hubris, selling the iraq woor, in progress, right after this. i had some lebanese food for lunch. i love the lebanese. i... i'm not sure. enough of the formalities... lets get started shall we? jimmy how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico?

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... and now you've seen it. that's powerful. verizon. get mom a lucid 2 by lg for free. case of saddam hussein a sworn enemy of our country required a candid appraisal of the facts. simply stated, there is no doubt that saddam hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. there is no doubt that he is amazing them to use against our friends, against our allies and against us.

>> i had a seat on the stage next to the lectern where he was speaking. i bolted that. >> iraq can be a great nation once again. >> vice president's dick cheney's speech is the opening salvo of the bush add palestinian stragses a effort to sell to the american people what white house insiders people call "the product." >> thank you very much. >> was a shock. a total shock. i couldn't believe the advice president was saying this. on doing work, all of the briefings i heard at langley, i heard saw one piece of credible evidence that there was an ongoing program and that's when i began to believe that they are getting serious about this. they want to go into iraq. >> two weeks after the speech, cheney again makes his case, on national television. >> what we know is just bits and pieces we gather through the intelligence system but we know he is using his are curement system to acquire the equipment

he needs to build a nuclear weapon. >> saddam and nukes, absolute certainty, aer isfying prospect based on the cia discovery that iraq is attempting to purchase 60,000 aluminum tubes. some analysts become convinced the tubes are to be used in century fusions to nation uranium for nuclear weapons. soon after the discovery the department of energy gets hold of the actual tubes and asks engineering professor an expert on gas century fuses to evaluate them.fuses to evaluate them. >> from the evaluation they gave me it took me about 15 minutes to know these tubes couldn't be used. they are too thick, they are too heavy. >> the energy department concludes the tubes for for conventional rockets, not chemical weapons but cia sticks

to their conviction that the tubes are for century fuses and the white house embraces that. the findings are leaked to "the new york times" in september 2002. the paper runs its sensational scoop on the front page. within hours dick cheney is quoting that as fact ""meet the press"". >> he has been seeking to acquire and we have been able to intercept and prevent him from acquiring through this particular channel the kinds of tubes that are necessary to build a century fuj. >> i called my friends in oak ridge and i said, are these the same tubes we were talking about last year? they said, yes. i said, i thought we put that to rest a year ago. >> four days later commemorating the first anniversary of 9/11 president george w. bush repeats the claim at the unitesed nationed. >> iraq has made attempts to buy

high strength alaluminum tubes o make uranium. >> i think the bush administration took satisfaction in saying that this made the case for them. >> most of the community believes there is no sufficient evidence to assess that there is a nuclear program. >> from the african country, intelligence informs the cia there is a contract between iraq and nijer to buy yellow cake, suitable for nuclear weapons. >> they were rather extensive written documents about the ways in which iraq was negotiating to buy very significant amounts of uranium ore but they expressed

how dubious they were about the documents and the likelihood they were forged. >> at the time, no one from u.s. intelligence actually laid eyes on the documents and they will ultimately turn out to be forgeries but when a dia report is on the yellow cake claim is presented to dick cheney, he orders the cia to dig deep are. the agency sends a veteran diplomat with experience in africa, former ambassador joseph wilson. >> i knew the foreign minister with whom was subsequently the prime minister. i know the minister of mines. >> it did not happen, it could not have happened. just because of the nature of the uranium mining operations in africa. the french maintain control. >> the most important thing to know about the yellow cake story, is that the cia never believed it. >> but even as speculation, it is enough for administration officials to move ahead with plans to take out saddam. >> national security adviser

condoleezza rice goes on cnn to alert the nation. >> the problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he can acquire nuclear weapons but we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud. >> what i was hearing, and what i knew, did not jive. >> i asked one time a langley, am i crazy or is there no credible evidence of an ongoing program. and i had a former depu deputy director say to me, you're not crazy. >> secretary of state collin powell and his senior staff who unlike their count are parts at defense, are all former military men. they press to give a chance for sanctions to work were for inspections to keep saddam in check. >> the concern was we hadn't finished in afghanistan. if we went to war in iraq we would take the emphasis off afghanistan which subsequently is exactly what happened. >> the administration has saddam

squarely in its sights. the time has come to persuade congress to squeeze the trigger. >> one of the most serious responsibilities the congress has is to cast a vote to send a young man or woman to war to die. girl vo: i'm pretty conservative. very logical thinker. (laughs) i'm telling you right now, the girl back at home would absolutely not have taken a zip line in the jungle. (screams)

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i'm paige hopkins with breaking news. u.s. officials tell nbc news that israeli warplanes launched targets against syria. their primary concern is believed to be a shipment of weapons headed for hezbollah in lebanon. this is the second time israeli targeted syria. israel is determined to prevent the move tomt those kinds of weapons to terrorists. now we take you back to "hubris."

>> with congress back from summer recess, leaders make their case to invade iraq, to eliminate saddam. inside the house, punxsutawney phil wolfowitz, an iraq hawk, like his boss, have a slide show national security officials that is questionable.iraq hawk, likea slide show national security officials that is questionable. >> of all the places where they are manipulating within the bush administration, this skeet place. >> this is debate about how one characterizes the relationship between iraq and al qaeda. no one made the argument there was a relationship between iraq and al qaeda. >> the administration deploys its biggest guns to push congressional leaders for quick passage of resolution to

authorize the president to take military action. >> i think it is important for the world to see that this country is united in our resolve to deal with threats that we face. >> the president made the point that there was an urgency to take in action that it couldn't wait. he got very animated. he used the middle finger to demonstrate saddam hussein's disdane for the united states and for him personally. >> a number of members of congress, mostly democrats, remain unconvinced. >> i'm still very skeptical about saddam hussein's intent and position. nothing has changed. the basis for that skepticism. >> the senate intelligence committee requests a national intelligence estimate, comprehensive summary of the evidence. nies are routinely delivered on intelligence issues with yet on this gravest of matters, none yet exists np in three weeks the

cia pulls together what normally takes months. it is delivered just receive not days before the congressional vote. >> aluminum tubes are interesting and i know there is controversy associated with it -- >> in my judgment the cia detector, george tenet, had become a spokesperson for the administration. that is not the role of the cia. he was towing the line that the administration did not want him to tow. >> we think we stumbled ton one avenue of the nuclear weapons program. >> there is no question there were erroneous actions. the purpose was to sell a policy initiative, which was to go to war against iraq. >> 90-page classified nie states that saddam is actively you are pursuing the program. citing intelligence on uranium tubes, yellow cake purchase and mobile weapons labs. but deep inside the thick document are strongly worded descents that argue the evidence

is weak, even wrong. >> nie is sent to congress, in a classified vault and only a half dozen senators actually read it. had they done so they would have seen it was filled with descents. >> if i had read the national intelligence estimate on iraq, i probably would have been, would have done pli myself a favor, by being better informed on the intelligence rather than listening to the demonstration. >> as a congressional demonstration to authorize war is put to vote, most republicans stand solidly behind president bush. >> the forces of freedom are on the march and terrorists will find no safe harbor in this world. >> democrats are deeply divided. >> is wrong for congress to declare war against iraq now before we have exhausted the alternatives. >> i urge senators to go down on the capitol mall and look at the vietnam memorial. >> gnarly two months out from an

election and no one, republican, democrat, independent, ever wants to be viewed as weak on national security. >> i will vote to give the president the authority he needs. >> the threat of saddam hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real. >> it is a vote that puts awesome responsibility in the hands of our president, and we say to him, use these powers wisely and as a last resort. >> in my heart, i knew that a note to the authorities for the president was the right vote. but yet i was not strong enough to vote my conscious. >> joint resolution is passed without objection. >> the vote is overwhelming. the margin is more than 3-1 in the senate. it's more than 2-1 in the house. the president is officially given a free hand. >> the days of iraq acting as an outlaw state are cominging to an end. >> powell walked into my office and without so much as a

farewell, he walk offered to the window and said i wonder what will happen when we put 500,000 troops in iraq, comb from one end of the country to the other, and we find nothing. and he walked out of my office. i wrote that down on my calendar as close to verbatim as i could. i thought that was profound coming from the secretary of state from the joint chiefs of staff. >> the march of war begins in earnest and collin powell gets the job of selling it to the world. >> we are giving you our facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence. >> anyone who says this is an intelligence driven war i believe is mistaken. end, stop. rs i describe myself as a mother, a writer and a performer. i'm also a survivor of ovarian and uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that.n in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers.

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congress is on board as our british prime minister, tony blair, and most of the mainstream media. the stage is set for war. a new u.n. resolution has forced iraq to submit to tough new arms inspections. but president bush is growing impatient. the defense department tells him that if he's going to war, he's got to do it before the blistering desert summer. >> we move along the path of getting a good inspection going, that would probably come to fruition one way or the other. but once you start military forces flowing to the extent that we did for iraq, it's hard it pull them back. >> as the inevitable moves closer, president bush reargues the case. and ups the ante with 16 infamous words in a state of the union address. >> the british government

learned that saddam hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from africa. >> that would be yellow cake. again. but by referring to a six-month-old british white paper the president doesn't end run around a claim discredited by his own intelligence service. >> it wasn't a matter of lying about this or lying about that, but rather through the artistry of speech writers and case presenters, conveying an impression to the american people, that certain things were true. >> it is a real slight of hand. but i think it's kind to call that disingenerous. >> on the heel of the president's speech, the administration plays its ultimate trump card. it tasks secretary of state collin powell its most trusted public face, its most reluctant warrior to make the case against saddam hussein at the united nations. he is given a week to pull that presentation together. >> he walked in my office with a sheath of papers in my hand and

he threw them down on my desk and he said that's the script of my present at the united nations. came from the vice president's office. it was junk. it was pure junk. i was in charge of putting it together. >> powell and wilkerson tore up the original 48-page script and start over with a team from the state department and cia. director george tenet suggests they base their presentation on the national intelligence estimate. which unbenoensed to powell is a deeply flawed document. still, he is wary bp. >> we went into a room. he slammed the door shut. he said, sit down. and he sat down. we were the only two people in the room. he looked at me and he said, this bull [ bleep ] of contacts with al qaeda has got to be taken out. it's bull [ bleep ]. and i said, i agree with you. let's take it out. done. within a half an hour, tenet

comes in and explosively tells about this high-level al qaeda cop rattive who's been interrogated and admitted to these contacts. whoa. and we put it back in. >> that's the dubious confession extracted from allibby, the torture by egyptians. >> beth of us told ourselves in we believed what we were presenting then we today believe it because they were the experts. >> i wrote part of the speech and what i saw over the course of weeks, up until the night before he gave that speech, and in fact into the early morn, 1, 2:00 a.m., was does this fit. is this compelling? who can pick a hole in this? i'm going to stand in front after billion people. what i say better be the clearest and most credible information we have. >> on february 5, 2003, the moment of truth arrives. >> the 4,701st meeting of the

security council is called to order. >> the world witnesses colin powell deliver the ultimate argument for war against iraq. >> what we are giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence. i will cite some examples and these are human sources. >> i was at cia headquarters and we all gathered around the tv in the office to watch his speech live from the u.n. >> we have firsthand descriptions of biological weapons factories on wheels and on rails. >> tho would be descriptions by the discredited witness, curveball. >> as he is talking about this, and showing vie vials of white houder, i turned to a woman next to me who followed the case of curveball much more close than i. . i said, what the hell is going on. my colleague said, i don't know.

i don't know what's going on. what is this? >> we did not know he was in germany. we did not know he add code name, curveball. he did not know that no u.s. intelligence personnel had ever interrogated him. >> based on defector information in intelligence personnel had ever interrogated him. >> based on the information, in may of 1991, saddam hussein had a massive clandestine nuclear weapons program that covered several different techniques to enrich uranium. >> that would be defector information supplied by the notoriously unreliable ahmed chalabi, head of the iraqi national congress. the self-appointed expatriate iraqi shadow government. >> we talked to chalabi on multiple occasions and we saw that even they were hyping the type of information that they put out. >> he is so determined that he has made repeated covert attempts to acquire high specification aluminum tubes from 11 different countries, even after inspections resumed. >> yet again, the aluminum tubes.

>> i was incredibly disappointed when he brought out the comments about the aluminum tubes. felt betrayed as an american and a scientist. >> i can trace the story of a senior terrorist operative telling how iraq provided training in these weapons to al qaeda. fortunately, this operative is now detained and he's told his story. >> powell is referring to iban al sheikh al libi, the same detainee the cia labeled a fabricator. powell takes 90 minutes to run through his persuasive litany of evidence. most of it will turn out to be at best inaccurate. >> thank you, mr. president. >> if you look at that speech in retrospect, there's a little too much of what we think and not enough of what we don't know. that's not the secretary's power problem. that's on us as intelligence professionals. >> secretary of state powell set aside his personal misgivings

and staked his global reputation for integrity on this one moment, selling the case for war. >> though neither powell nor anyone else from the state department team intentionally lied, we did participate in a hoax. it doesn't. that's crazy. we're all totally different. ishares core. etf building blocks for your personalized portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

my fellow citizens, at this hour, american and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger. our nation enters this conflict reluctantly, yet our purpose is sure.

>> the conquest goes quickly. and just as quickly, a country liberated from a dictator dissolves into chaos. >> freedom is untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things. >> an administration eager to go to war, fails disastrously to plan for its aftermath. and after 19 months of scouring the country, the truth about saddam's weapons of mass destruction is finally revealed. >> there are no weapons of mass destruction in iraq, and there haven't been for a long time. >> a new report by the chief u.s. weapons inspector finds that iraq got rid of its weapons of mass destruction shortly after the first gulf war. >> i wasn't supposed to find wmd, i was supposed to find the truth. i did not fail to find wmd. i succeeded in finding the truth. >> you're telling us in addition

to having no wmd stocks before the war, for the reasons you gave, saddam chose not to have those weapons. is that correct? >> that is correct. >> those are stunning statements. >> it was a terrible mistake. the cia had said we would find stockpiles that we didn't find. it was a disaster. >> you believed it was true at the time? >> yes, so did they. they shouldn't have. i mean there were a lot of people in the agency, in the community, that knew some of this information wasn't, you know, as solid as it was being presented to me. >> it's not just an intelligence failure. it's a failure to the very highest levels of decision making in america. george w. bush and richard bruce cheney would have gone to war with iraq and gotten rid of saddam hussein even if there wasn't any intelligence at all. >> it is at worst lies and deception. it is at best, incompetence and

lack of understanding. >> a lot of people who purposefully used extreme rhetoric to gin up popular support for the war, there have been no consequences for them. >> we sit here some eight years later, 4,000 americans lost their lives. maybe 100,000 iraqis lost their lives. it cost about a trillion dollars. was it worth it? did you give the right advice? >> i think i did. if you look back at the proposition we faced after 9/11, with respect to saddam hussein, we were very concerned about the prospects of terrorists like the 9/11 crowd, acquiring weapons of mass destruction, biological agent or nuclear weapon they could use on the united states. >> there's no question the news media didn't do its job during the run-up to the iraq war. far too often, the press simply accepted these sweeping assertions by the highest

officials in the government. without looking for the hard evidence to support it. >> more concern about the politics of my decision rather than what is right and what is wrong. >> i have prayed to god many times that he would forgive me for sending his children to die in a war that never had to happen. >> was there ever any consideration of apologizing to the american people? >> i mean, apologizing would basically say the decision was a wrong decision. and i don't believe it was a wrong decision.

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. america's prisons. dangerous. often deadly. there are 2 million people doing time. every day is a battle to survive and to maintain order. >> down on your feet! down! >> among the nation's toughest, california's state prison, corcoran, severely overcrowded and plagued by racial tension. we spend months inside, where officers try to maintain order in an institution with a notoriously violent past. this is "lockup: corcoran, extended stay."